


Because I Love You

by sh0tar1s



Series: Solangelo: the aftermath of the trauma [3]
Category: The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Amputation, Boys In Love, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gay Rights, Geeks, Idiots in Love, Insecurity, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:41:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27116935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sh0tar1s/pseuds/sh0tar1s
Summary: Will wakes up with Nico in his arms, safe and sound.They're alive, and they're alright.Or: Nico and Will forget for a moment and peacefully love each otherPart 3 (technically part 2 if u dont count the alternate ending work) of the series in which Will and Nico deal with trauma they suffered from near death.Could read as a standalone, but i recommend reading the first part so you arent too confused.
Relationships: Kayla Knowles & Austin Lake, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Series: Solangelo: the aftermath of the trauma [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1978432
Comments: 11
Kudos: 61





	Because I Love You

**Author's Note:**

> i had so much fun writing this u have no idea

Demigods clanked swords and shields outside the Hades cabin. Practicing probably, Will thought. They had woken him up less than 3 minutes ago, but he still hadn't opened his eyes.

And when he did, cracking one eye open, Will was met with the sight of his lover.

Nico, safe and sound and sleeping peacefully in his arms. 

The blonde squeezed his eyes shut, burying his face in the younger boy's hair. The familiar smell calmed him.

This was real. Nico was in his arms, snuggled against his chest, breathing in and out. It was real, Nico was right here.

When he opens his eyes, he will still be right there, still lying in his arms. When he opens his eyes, he'll be looking at the person he loves more than anything or anyone. When he opens his eyes, Nico will still be okay.

"Will?" Nico tiredly croaked. "What's wrong? Will?" 

He couldn't open his eyes. Not now, not when this could all be a lie. What if this was all an imagination? If he opened his eyes and no one was there, what was he to do?

So he kept them shut.

Metal creaked and his face made contact with cold fingers.

"Will, I'm here," his lover's voice sounded like honey. Full of life, it was there. Though it was hoarse from crying, it was there.

Still, he refused to open his eyes. 

Another metal hand touched his face, awkwardly cupping it and guiding him. His forehead warmed when Nico placed his lips there, slowly pecking it.

"Open your eyes, I'm here. I promise," Nico continued to kiss his forehead between each assurance. Everything felt so real. The heat of his body, the cold hands touching his face, warm lips on his face, soft hair brushing his face.

He swallowed his doubt and opened his eyes.

His blue eyes met brown ones. Red rings lined Nico's puffy eyes, of course from the crying session they had. His hair was a mess, a greasy mess. Will had no doubt he looked the same.

And yet, Nico looked beautiful. Of course he did, he always did. No matter how much he told him that, the other never believed him. Will wished he knew, knew just how much he meant to him. How his beauty went past surface level. 

That his beauty isn't just physical.

One time, he saw Aphrodite. They say the goddess of beauty and love appears however you like, whoever you think is the most beautiful.

Well, when he saw her, he mistook her for Nico.

Will brushed a strand of hair away from his boyfriend's face, kissing his cheek in the process. Then, Nico gently placed his lips on his.

A short, but meaningful kiss. Warm and full of love, soft yet firm, he closed his eyes. 

When they pulled away, Will took a deep breath and opened his eyes again. Nico was still there.

They embraced each other, tangling their limbs together.

Silence filled the cabin but not for too long, Will had some things to say.

"Never do that again," He mumbled against his lover's shoulder.

The son of Hades pulled away, looking him in the eyes and tilting his head. "What?"

Will sighed, looking up and blinking. He didn't wanna cry again, he had no energy for that anymore.

"Don't," he winced. "Don't jump in front of me again. Ever. Don't do that."

Nico shook his head and smiled lazily.

"I can't promise that," the raven haired boy held his lover's hand. His fingers were stiff, they couldn't quite move as he wanted yet. Though it was easier than expected to move, bending his fingers too much put a strain on his shoulder. Somehow. So, Will intertwined their fingers for him, firmly holding Nico's hand in his.

"You can't do it again," Will closed his eyes and whispered. "I-I can't lose you-"

"Hey, hey, hey," Nico whispered back, propping himself up on his new arm before slipping. It couldn't handle any weight, but he ignored it. The boy opted to continue lying next to him instead. 

"You won't lose me" He brought Will's hand as close to him as he could, which was just right between the two of them. He leaned down, kissing the back of his hand.

Will shook his head, putting his free hand on Nico's waist and pulling him closer.

"I almost did."

"But you didn't," Nico countered.

Shakily, the blonde inhaled, holding his breath before opening his eyes again, bringing Nico's hand to his own lips and placing soft kisses all over the mechanical knuckles.

Nico couldn't promise, he knew that. His lover was reckless, absolutely ruthless. He couldn't stop Nico from protecting him like a fool.

And he was grateful.

They stared into each other's eyes, examining each other. There they were, alive and breathing. Touching each other's hands and faces and hair, reveling in their peace.

"So," Nico started. "my arms...are gone," he pointed out the obvious.

His expression was stoic, rid of any emotion. But Will could see it. The sadness in his eyes, the slight downwards tug at his lips, how his eyebrows ever so slightly knit together.

He knew what he was thinking.

He thought he was ugly now, useless, maybe less than that.

They have gone over a conversation alike, Nico was more insecure than he let on. Now losing a large percentage of his real body, that probably was taking its toll already. He could practically hear his own thoughts, 'Will you still love me?'

And how could Will ever not?

"What do you mean?" Will smiled and kissed his lover's hand again.

Nico frowned, pulling his hand free of the blondes grasp.

"You know what I mean," he sighed.

"No, I don't," Will sat up, propping himself up with his arm. He stared down at the beautiful boy he was so lucky to call his.

Nico sat up on the bed, groaning as he did. That didn't concern the son of Apollo, he always hated getting up no matter his condition l.

"My arms are gone, Will," tears filled his eyes. "I'm a fucking machine."

Will's smile dropped. He sat up, taking Nico's hands in his again.

"These hands," he opened Nico's fingers, revealing the shiny metallic palms. "they're yours, Nico. They're not gone."

The younger ofthe two tscoffed but nodded, not in the mood to argue about it. He pushed his tears back successfully. Will hoped he knew he was just trying to get him used to it.

"It changes nothing, Nico. I promise," he gave him his warmest smile, kissing his nose.

The other smiled back, slightly blushing.

"Plus it's badass," he added.

"Oh, hush!"

"No seriously!" Will lifted Nico's left arm, examining the metal. It wasn't just some dainty old piece of junk. This was an arm of steel, it even curved where muscle should be. It reminded Will of an anime he watched of a boy with a metal arm. Actually, it was almost the same.

"Look at that Nico! It's actually really cool!" And it was, it really was.

Nico scoffed but the older boy saw him trying to fight back a smile. 

Then he looked down and his eyes almost fell out of their sockets.

"N-Nico," the blonde stuttered.

"Hm?" Nico saw him looking down, so he followed his gaze.

Metal was in place of his left leg. The leg which had been impaled by his tibia.

"Fuck," he hissed and shut his eyes. He clearly hadn't noticed, somehow.

"Y-your leg," Will stupidly pointed out. He hadn't expected it, he had no clue. Apollo didn't say anything about it. Well, he couldn't blame his dad for not remembering, it had to be stressful healing them in the first place. Afterall, his son and his son's boyfriend were on the brink of death. Apollo probably didn't give a damn about a prosthetic leg and informing him of it. He'd have to talk to him later, anyways.

"Yeah, my leg," Nico sighed and shifted his vision to Will. They both let out a sigh, like they were both saying "What can ya do?"

"Actually this is perfect," Will thought out loud.

"Come again?"

"It's just like that anime, Fullmetal Alchemist!" He snapped his fingers and Nico groaned, facepalming a little too hard and yelping at the cold contact. "No really! He had no arm or leg and it looked almost exactly like yours! I swear, it's so cool!"

"Will, TWO of my arms are gone. And my leg."

"Then you're closer to being Fullmetal than he is!"

Nico just stared at him. "I can't believe this is who I'm dating."

"Yeah me neither," he kissed his forehead.

"Blah, you suck," the raven haired boy deadpanned.

Will stuck his tongue out. "Don't lie, you know it's frickin awesome!"

Nico sighed before tilting his head and giving him that one look. The look that said "Can't argue with that, you got me there."

"See! Your arms are totally cool!" 

Nico tilted his head again, pouting his lips. Will got the idea they were on two different pages.

Regardless, the blonde demigod continued to fawn over his boyfriend's arms for quite some time before letting go and finally sitting back. Of course, it was because Nico swatted him away.

They sat cross legged and faced each other. Will rested his chin in his hand while Nico hunched over, his arms in his lap.

"Who healed us anyways?" The younger of the two asked.

Will laughed, time to show off his dad.

"The one, the only, drumroll please!"

Nico just clapped his hands together a couple times, clanging metal against each other.

"Apollo!"

"Knew it," Nico sighed and facepalmed.

The other smirked. "Disappointed, babe?"

"No, no," he protested and cleared his throat. "Just...only he would pick out metal so," he gritted the next word. "shiny."

Will laughed harder this time and Nico joined, finally cracking a smile. 

"That's my dad, alright," he continued to laugh, holding Nico's hand again.

Nico, this time, twitched his fingers enough to brush Will's. This made both of them smile. It hurt when he dug his fingers into his shirt while he was crying, he prolly somehow pulled a robotic muscle. Will didn't know how to figure it out yet, but eventually they would. Someone had to teach Nico the functions, right? If they ever left this cabin, that is. 

Which, the bed wasn't gonna be abandoned any time soon. 

"How long were we out?" Nico yawned.

"Well...since it's not really morning right now, it's evening, if I'm correct," he prepared Nico for the news. "It's June sixteen."

Nico's jaw dropped.

"I know! I know!" He enthusiastically cried.

"No fucking way," Nico made an attempt to sit up but yelped. His leg was metal from the knee, down. It probably hurt his joints.

"Yikes," Will winced but Nico waved it off, going back to the topic of Apollo, Naturally.

"I don't believe it," He stiffly crossed his arms again.

"Well, you better start!" 

"One fucking day," Nico muttered under his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "One day?!" He whisper-yelled.

"Yes!" Will jokingly whisper-yelled back.

The son of Hades laughed, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. 

"Don't tell him I said this…"

"But?"

"Your dad's incredible."

They both laughed at the thought of boosting Apollo's ego any more. God's knew he didn't need it.

"You think he made these arms? And leg?" Nico questioned.

"Probably the Hephaestus kids," Will replied.

They both nodded at that. 

"Here," Will held out his arms and waited for his boyfriend to embrace him. When the boy did, he maneuvered him onto his lap.

"Hey!" The younger demigod complained but did his best to wrap his arms around his lover's neck anyway. His legs wrapped around his waist, pulling the both of them closer.

"I just wanna hold you," Will whispered, tightening his hold around his other halves waist.

Nico kissed the top of his head. "Okay."

They sat there, Nico in Will's lap, for a long, long time. Will's legs turned numb, and he was sure his boyfriend's butt wasn't quite comfortable either. Still, neither let go.

The somewhat fullmetal boy pulled away and as gently as he could, cupped his lover's cheek. Will's cheeks heated up, a year and a half later and he still blushed when Nico looked at him so intensely.

"Still intimidated?" The younger smirked.

"Shut up."

"Make me."

So he did. Will's lips met Nico's again, melting against each other. This time, the kiss was deeper, longer. Their tongues met each other, moving together. 

In this moment, Will felt alive.

They pulled away to breathe, staring at each other.

The blonde pecked his lips, "I love you."

"I love you more." Nico kissed him back.

Another kiss.

"Nope, I do."

And another.

"Hmmm, don't think so!"

"It's true."

"Can't be."

"Why not?"

Nico smiled down at him, meeting their foreheads together. Then, he stared intensely, like he was gonna tell him his grandmother died.

"I'd die for you," he couldn't control his laughter as he pulled away, blushing like crazy and trying to cover his face. That clearly wasn't planned.

"Oh yeah? Why?" Will smiled like an idiot.

Nico, still blushing and laughing like crazy, pressed his forehead against the others again.

"Because I love you," he laughed more as he tried his best to get the words out.

Will laughed right back. Seeing Nico like this was a rarity. Every moment, every second of this, he treasured it. Like putting these moments in a diamond box with a golden key, safely storing it in his mind.

Nico's smile radiated the room, he glowed. Will couldn't get enough.

"So then I'd do it too!" He held his lover's hands dramatically, like he was dying in a Shakespeare play.

"Do what?" The other asked, feigning innocence.

This time, Will's tone was serious as he answered, "I'd die for you, too."

"Yeah, well," Nico's grin widened and kissed Will's lips again. "I already tried, I'm one step ahead of you."

"Shut the f-"

He was cut off with another kiss, this one longer than the others.

Outside the cabin, Kayla and Austin debated who's gonna walk in and witness the lovey dovey couple just to tell them they have visitors.

**Author's Note:**

> they kith♡


End file.
